Carder

Time to blow a lotta steam off...

....I bought a 2008 38 EC brand new from Shogren Fountain with a trailer.

Within a couple of months Reggie declared "bankruptcy" and my 6 year Hull warranty ceased to exist...

I took meticulous care of it, knowing I had no support from Fountain... Always on a trailer or hoist, and always inside, heated, storage in the Winter.

2 years ago, a tech thought he heard water dripping behind an engine, so we had it inspected, mechanically and structurally.

Here's what was found:

80% of the transom was completely rotted out, and about 3 feet of the rear stringers were mush!

How does this happen on a boat that only gets wet when it is running??

Really poor workmanship and assembly!!

1. There was no gelcoat or sealant where the thru-hull exhaust was cut out in the transom.

2. Worse yet, there is a collecting area for rain water, sea water, and bilge pump water that leads to the side drains. This area had zero water proofing in it... just white paint.

So everytime it rained, or the bilge pump ran, water seeped into the hull, which lead down to the transom, which butted up to the stringers (That had no waterproofing layer between
the transom and stringers) which soaked the stringers too.

Even though Fountain had gone through a couple of bankruptcies by this point, I called Customer Service for help... What a joke! I was told that the new owners had bought the assets,
but would not be liable for any past problems.. I asked them to at least donate marine-grade plywood to help defer my repair costs... NOPE, that would make them appear guilty of something.

In conclusion, The repair bill was nearly $30,000. I sold the boat as soon as it was seaworthy...
...More seaworthy now, than when Fountain built it.

I also learned from a number of High Performance salesmen, that Fountains are renowned for leaky hulls and wet stringers, and they are leery when they come up for trade.

Get your hulls checked ASAP, my outdrives were hanging on by the hydraulic steering rams!

Needless to say, I won't ever be buying my 4th Fountain.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

Wow, just wow.

ozarkdevil

That's odd because I was told that after 2006 fountains used coosa board for stringers and transom. I was told after 2006 there is NO wood.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

It may have been a 2008 MY boat, but who knows when the actual hull was built.

F-2 Speedy

iTrader: (6)

What would Reggie have done to assist some six years after the boat was built if he was still at the helm.

CharlieD

Yikes! Just put a deposit on a 2008 EC. Should I reconsider?

phragle

iTrader: (3)

Survey says........

Carder

I don't think mine was the only one poorly built.

Carder

Unless, it was the one I fixed!!

jeff32

In 2010, a 2006 47 without any scellant in the 6 exhaust tips, transom wood was simply wood dirt...